GlobalFoundries Vice President of Manufacturing Systems and Technology Tom Sonderman holds a silicon wafer Wednesday during a press conference introducing the company's new research and development facility, a multimillion dollar lab with state-of-the-art semiconductor manufacturing tools and material handling equipment, located at the NYSERDA STEP building. (ERICA MILLER, The Saratogian)

The Saratogian

MALTA -- GlobalFoundries on Wednesday unveiled a new multi-million dollar training and test lab critical for the start-up of its $4.6 billion Fab 8 chip plant in two years.

However, it was done against a backdrop of uncertainty and some degree of apprehension because of infrastructure delays that threaten to slow the facility's opening, which would have a "massive" financial impact, company officials say.

At a press conference at 1:30 today, Michael Relyea, the president of the corporation that oversees the property, will "discuss recent concerns about the infrastructure development efforts," according to a media alert sent Wednesday evening.

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Relyea has not responded to requests from The Saratogian for comments since Friday, when it was reported that the state was taking steps to seize control of Luther Forest Technology Campus, which owns the property and is responsible for making infrastructure available for GlobalFoundries and other park tenants.

"We have very serious concerns about meeting our timelines to bring the fab up on time," said Travis Bullard, the GlobalFoundries spokesman. "It's been an issue for a long time."

"All of the above," Bullard said, when asked if he thought infrastructure delays were the fault of Luther Forest officials or trouble getting projects approved. He said GlobalFoundries can't get a certificate of occupancy until a new entrance road is built at Cold Springs Road on the Stillwater side of the park. Work on the road hasn't begun.

More important, the company needs both secondary water and power lines to the site. Saratoga County Water Authority has already built a $70 million line from the Hudson River in Moreau to Malta. Bullard said several backup options have been discussed, but no firm plans are in place.

The second power line would come from a Ballston Spa substation to the park.

Saratoga County Board of Supervisors Chairman Bill Peck, R-Northumberland, called the state's takeover threat a "heavy-handed" move. He said he was scheduled to meet with Empire State Development Chairman Dennis Mullen on Wednesday afternoon.

"This was a move to bring people to the table," Peck said. "I think we can expedite this process without a state takeover. I knew there were some concerns. I didn't know it had come to this level. We all have the same goals for GlobalFoundries to be a successful project and be a light for future development in the park. These are complicated issues. None of these issues are too large to be solved."

Wednesday's opening of the new test and training lab is clearly a step in the right direction. The facility occupies 6,000 square feet of space at the new Saratoga Technology + Energy Park building off Hermes Road, adjacent to Luther Forest.

GlobalFoundries built it to replicate, on a miniature scale, what the fab's 300,000 square foot clean room environment will be like. For the next two years, future plant workers can be trained on equipment at the new lab, so they'll be ready to go when the semiconductor factory opens.

More than 1,000 steps are involved with making each individual wafer as they travel a total of five miles from one high-tech tool to another. Previously, wafers were moved by hand. Now it's done by automated vehicles called "foops" that carry 25 wafers at a time.

Company officials started the process up -- complete with a music-accompanied laser light show -- for a crowd of more than 200 people to view firsthand. "I think we'll show the world a lot of things when we get this facility up and running in a couple of years," said Tom Sonderman, company vice president-technology.

Work on the fab began in June 2009 and is half done. The first large tool is scheduled to be installed next year. Plans call for manufacturing to begin in mid-2012 and reach full volume in 2013.

The plant is expected to employ more than 1,400 people directly and thousands more indirectly once manufacturing starts up.

"This is a way to show the world we are cutting edge right here in this region," said U.S. Rep. Paul Tonko, D-Amsterdam.